From a press release issued by Pirelli’s advertising and PR agency, Plummer Menapace:

PIRELLI SHATTERS ISLE OF MAN LAP RECORD, SWEEPS TOP FIVE PLACES IN FORMULA ONE TT

John McGuinness Had Already Broken The Record In Practice; Went Even Faster in The Race

(Rome, GA) Pirelli-mounted riders swept the top five places in Saturday’s Formula One TT, the annual event’s opening race, shattering the lap record in the process.

John McGuinness, running Pirelli 16.5-inch slicks, won the race, getting his fourth Isle of Man TT victory. But the number that really mattered to him was 127.68. That’s the all-time lap record he set, 127.68 mph, crushing it not once, but twice – having done so earlier in practice.

Second place went to TAS Suzuki’s Adrian Archibald, 18.6 seconds behind McGuinness’s Honda. Third went to Archibald’s TAS teammate, Bruce Anstey, 26 seconds back. TAS Suzuki has been a major Pirelli IOM team for a number of years. (The late IOM hero and multi-record holder, David Jeffries rode for TAS.) Both Archibald and Anstey were on Pirelli 17-inch slicks.

Two more Pirelli riders rounded out the top five. Ian Lougher, a former TT winner and definite factor in this year’s event, came home fourth on a Honda; and Richard Britton brought his GSX-R1000 to fifth.

There’s a long week of racing ahead, but this was the best opening imaginable for Pirelli tires, which have dominated the last two Isle of Man events. Last year, Pirelli riders won all six TTs they entered, captured 16 of the 18 podium positions, and took a staggering 54 of the 60 total Top-10 places available in those six TTs. In 2002, Pirelli riders won all six major TTs, sweeping the podiums in all of them.